Evaluating the impact of nature-based solutions
A Handbook for Practitioners
About this report:
The Handbook aims to provide decision-makers with a comprehensive NBS impact assessment framework, and a robust set of indicators and methodologies to assess impacts of nature-based solutions across 12 societal challenge areas: Climate Resilience; Water Management; Natural and Climate Hazards; Green Space Management; Biodiversity; Air Quality; Place Regeneration; Knowledge and Social Capacity Building for Sustainable Urban Transformation; Participatory Planning and Governance; Social Justice and Social Cohesion; Health and Well-being; New Economic Opportunities and Green Jobs. Indicators have been developed collaboratively by representatives of 17 individual EU-funded NBS projects and collaborating institutions such as the EEA and JRC, as part of the European Taskforce for NBS Impact Assessment, with the four-fold objective of: serving as a reference for relevant EU policies and activities; orient urban practitioners in developing robust impact evaluation frameworks for nature-based solutions at different scales; expand upon the pioneering work of the EKLIPSE framework by providing a comprehensive set of indicators and methodologies; and build the European evidence base regarding NBS impacts. They reflect the state of the art in current scientific research on impacts of nature-based solutions and valid and standardized methods of assessment, as well as the state of play in urban implementation of evaluation frameworks.
Connected to this report
NAIAD: NAture Insurance value
NAIADValue of nature insurance: assessment and demonstrationNAIAD aims to operationalise “Natural Assurance Schemes”, defined as a range of schemes to internalise the insurance value of river systems. The NAIAD project aims to operationalise the insurance value of...
Authors
European Commission. Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Contributing authors to chapters:
- Chapter 2: Principles guiding NBS performance and impact evalution
- Chapter 4: Indicators of NBS performance and impact
- Chapter 5: Application of the NBS impact evaluation framework: NBS performance and impact evaluation case studies
- Chapter 6: NBS for Disaster Risk Reduction
Citation
European Commission: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Evaluating the impact of nature-based solutions – A handbook for practitioners, Publications Office of the European Union, 2021, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/244577
Keywords
Nature-based Solutions
Water management
Biodiversity enhancement
Climate resilience
Participatory planning and governance
Green space management
Knowledge building
Urban planning
Place regeneration
Health and well-being
Green jobs
Economy
Social justice
Social cohesion
Air quality
Natural and climate hazards
